Fired Up
by ImaginaryFlower
Summary: Miku is the very annoying new student Meiko knows is trying to steal her childhood friend from her. Or maybe that's not what's going on at all. MeikoxMiku oneshot for Current Sea.


**Fired Up**

**Miku is the very annoying new student Meiko knows is trying to steal her childhood friend from her. Or maybe that's not what's going on at all.**

**Pairings: MeikoxMiku, hinted MikuxKaito, background GumixKaito**

**Rating: T (for language, I guess)**

**Genres: Romance, friendship, hurt/comfort**

**Characters: Meiko S., Miku H.**

* * *

**This is for Current Sea, who converted me to MeikoxMiku recently. Oh, and she wrote me a wonderful little TeixMiku (or Hatsukone, as is now the ship name) story, so if you wouldn't mind possibly checking that out? I guess this is sort of her late Christmas present!**

**Anyway, here we go! I'm inexperienced with this pairing (though I plan to write more of it, of course) and this story is honestly a bit messy. Hopeful I'll edit it in future and make it better. **

**Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"Meiko!" Kaito called out to the girl, an arm swinging over her shoulder as he greeted her as he typically did. "How are things?"

"You want something," Meiko stated despite her smile. Kaito rarely met up with her between classes, as he was doing at that moment. And while he was a touchy-feely person, he usually understood well enough what would happen to his face if he touched Meiko when she wasn't okay with it. Some days, though, he'd risk it if he wanted something badly enough.

"Damn. You're good," Kaito laughed. "Yeah, I guess I want something. Can you help?"

"Why don't you try telling me what it is first?" Meiko asked, lifting his arm off of him. It wasn't until recently that he had even been able to do that. He had been too short, far shorter than her. Then again, Meiko had always been the tallest girl in the class, in constant competition with Lily, the leggy blonde who could probably take down anyone in the school with one hand behind her back.

"Nothing gets by you," Kaito sighed. "Alright, it's simple; there's a student tour after school. I can't make it."

"You want me to cover for you?" Meiko guessed. Kaito nodded. "Easy enough, I guess."

Kaito grinned at her from his barely taller height, clapping her on the shoulder and nearly knocking into some poor freshman as he twirled away from Meiko's slap, which was aimed at the back of his head. He was such a damn child sometimes. It bugged her a lot less than it should have.

It was hard to get annoyed by Kaito, really. She had seen him during his highs and his lows, and Kaito had seen hers. They had grown up together, the best friends no one could separate. Sure, he could be a bit much at times and she generally didn't associate with people so childish, but Kaito was Kaito. He was her best friend.

Which was why she was going to put up with showing around a potential new student for him. Even though his grades were crap, he was a people-person, so the teachers usually chose him to show people around the school. Whatever he was doing that was more important than the tours he so enjoyed giving had to be major.

"I owe you one!" Kaito called out to her as he darted off to his next class.

"You owe me about twenty by now!" she shouted back over the heads of the students. Heads turned, but upon seeing Meiko, her fellow students instantly went on their ways. It wasn't that she scared them, but they wouldn't put it past her to throw any one of them out the window if they annoyed her. Even then, she wasn't as bad as Lily. Most of the students and even the teachers simply preferred to avoid Meiko.

She smiled fondly, oblivious to the mass of students around her who now had their guards raised.

* * *

Meiko wasn't a people-person. She could manage to get along with most people on her good days, but even then she wasn't especially friendly. She had a handful of friends and another handful of people who simply put up with her. It wasn't that she tried to piss people off or she couldn't control her temper. She just wasn't willing to for the most part.

This being said, she wasn't looking forward to showing around some stupid potential student and their prissy parents. She had done a few of these tours in her first year of high school, before the teachers realized that she was definitely not the best candidate. It had always been the same; the kid would follow along silently, looking like they wanted to be anywhere but there while the parents asked question after question. The worst family she had ever encountered during her short stint as a tour guide was an elegant mother and her nanny, who was probably about nineteen and held a baby on one arm while the kid, a fifteen-year-old boy with a lip ring, paid as little attention to her as possible. He snuck off at one point and set the library on fire. When they finally caught up with him, his mother promptly slapped him across the face while the nanny shushed the baby.

Meiko wasn't expecting to have much fun at all. Not even a little bit.

But when she approached the front office, where a small girl and a very tall boy waited, she suspected it wouldn't be quite as bad as she had thought.

The boy introduced himself. He was quite tall, probably almost a foot taller than Meiko, with shaggy teal hair and a scruffy, unshaven face. He looked tired but made an obvious point to hold a friendly smile on his face. He wore casual clothes, a t-shirt under an oversized hoodie paired with jeans. He couldn't have been much older than Meiko, who was in her last year of high school. The girl who stood beside him looked fairly similar to him, and based on age difference, she guessed the two were siblings.

She didn't pay the girl a lot of attention as she shook hands with the boy (more of a man, really) who introduced himself.

"I'm Mikuo Hatsune," he said with a tired smile. Jesus, it looked like he hadn't slept in days. "This is my sister Miku. We're new to town."

"Hello, Mr. Hatsune," Meiko greeted. "I'm Meiko Sakine, a senior. What grade will she be going into?" There was something about this man that made her so much more professional on instinct. She didn't understand what it was.

"She'll be a senior, as well," Mikuo smiled down at his younger sister, who stared back up at him with an almost completely blank expression.

Meiko couldn't believe that. The girl was barely large enough to be starting high school, let alone finishing it. She was so tiny and petite. Doll-like, really, with long lashes and a carved face. Docile was the word Meiko was looking for. Like a little lamb.

"Well, now I know which parts of the school to show you," Meiko said, for lack of a better response. Any number of rude things were filtering themselves into her mind, but she clamped her teeth together and did her best to ignore them. "This way."

She showed them the top floor, where the seniors took classes. She showed them the art room and the library and the music room. All the while, both hung onto her words with interest, though Miku didn't look very pleased.

_What's her problem? _Meiko wondered as the small girl lifted a few sheets of paper from the pile in the art room. _Is she going to inspect every single thing in the damn school?_

The tour ended well, without a single hitch or bump in the road. Honestly, Meiko was surprised and more than a bit pleased with herself.

"Thank you very much, Miss Sakine," Mikuo told her. "You have a very nice school."

"You're welcome. That's good to hear," Meiko said in reply. "We hope to see Miku in class soon." It was such a generic, emotionless thing to say Meiko internally cringed.

Mikuo smiled again. It was that same tired smile from before. "I suspect you might," he said. "Have a lovely day."

"You, too," she responded. As they left, she couldn't repress a shiver. Miku had been staring at her all through that final scene and those green eyes were as expressive as a blank sheet of paper. That girl gave Meiko the creeps. She hadn't spoken once during the entire tour, which wasn't very typical. Even when Meiko had asked her a direct question, she'd just shrug or look at Mikuo so he'd answer. It was creepy.

Meiko did not like that girl. Not a single bit.

Too bad she'd probably end up in the same class as her based on how her luck seemed to go these days.

* * *

Meiko was partially right, as it turned out. While she wasn't in class with Miku, she ended up spending an insane amount of time with the girl.

The small girl ended up being Kaito's new partner for some English assignment. Kaito instantly took a liking to the girl, which he tended to do with cute girls. It was problem that irritated Meiko since she usually ended up making small talk with whatever new girl Kaito befriended at some point. But now she was stuck with Miku, who she had yet to hear say a single damn word. She didn't even try to get involved in conversation. When roll was called, she simply raised her hand and if the teacher didn't notice, people would instantly jump in to make sure she didn't get marked as absent.

It was annoying. Miku was annoying.

There was a huge list of reasons why the girl annoyed Meiko. Her silence was only one reason. There were those stupid frilly skirts she wore to school, and the childish pigtails she literally never too out. She was… infuriating.

And everyone loved her.

Why did everyone love her?

Whatever. Meiko prided herself on the fact that she didn't act petty. Her dislike for Miku was pretty petty, she had to admit. So she did her best to just ignore the girl, which was pretty hard when stupid Kaito was dragging her everywhere with them. He even brought her to movie night! Movie night was their thing!

And yet another reason to dislike Miku. She was slowly taking Kaito away from her.

More often than not, when Meiko called to make plans with her best friend, he wouldn't pick up. When he did pick up, all he could talk about was stupid Miku. Her perfect face, her amazing hair, her gorgeous eyes. The way she looked at him (which she didn't do at all) obviously meant the two belonged together. It was sickening

Meiko just wanted her best friend back. Not some soppy romantic being played by the new girl.

But she held herself together. If she ever said anything, she'd be accused of being jealous. Jealous? Of Miku Hatsune?

Not even a little.

Okay, well, maybe a bit.

But it wasn't like she loved Kaito! She loved him _as a friend_, if anything. She just… She missed the idiot.

Shit.

She really missed him.

It had already been a good month since Miku came to their school. An entire month since that tour. A month since Kaito became more of a blithering idiot than he used to be. And she definitely wasn't saying that fondly anymore. Not now that the idiot had decided to confess to Miku. Meiko knew what to expect; hell, she was a terrible person for wanting it to happen, but she knew things would be better when Miku finally turned Kaito down.

Things would be better.

Things would definitely be better.

Things would most definitely be-

No, they wouldn't. Meiko doubted that they would be better. But telling herself they would be…

It helped.

(She couldn't admit that it didn't actually help.)

So Meiko braced herself on that day in April, the day she knew Kaito would not be okay at the end. She went to classes with a weight pulling her down and her chest was constricted. It was a horrible feeling. And it wouldn't go away.

Meiko needed to get away. During her off period, she held up in the library, hidden in a corner where no one would see her unless they were looking intentionally. She drank from the can of soda she had snuck in with gusto, chugging it down like she couldn't get enough.

She really didn't expect to be interrupted.

"Is this okay?" she heard the hushed voice of Kaito. Shit. She had forgotten this period was when he had English class. So that meant he was talking to-

Well. Shit.

"Oh, good." She could hear the smile in his voice. Dear Lord, did she want to leave. She doubted she could get out of there without drawing attention to herself though. Kaito and Miku were just beyond that bookshelf ahead of her. There was no way out.

Meiko hunkered in her corner, behind the single couch in the library. Meiko could picture where Kaito and Miku were exactly: at one of the many tables housed in the library, their supplies for their project spread over the surface as they worked silently.

"Hey, Miku?" Kaito asked. There was no response that Meiko could hear, but she could imagine the way Miku would glance up and give her attention to Kaito. "Would you… Um… Do you want to… Can you hand me that dictionary?"

Meiko internally shuddered. Of course Kaito would choose the exact moment that she could overhear his stupid love confession. His skills at choosing precisely the wrong time for certain things were phenomenal.

God damn it. She did not want to be hearing this, she didn't want to hear it, shedidn'twantto-

"Miku?"

Had it been Meiko, she would have sighed at this moment. But it wasn't. It was silent, blank Miku who didn't verbally reply at all to anything anyone said ever.

"Well, it's silly, but I… I really like you," Kaito finally managed after a long moment of silence. Was that the drop of a pencil Meiko had heard?

"So… I was wondering… would it be possible for us to maybe, you know, go out sometime? If that's okay?"

The way his voice had gone an octave higher grated against Meiko's ears. It physically hurt to listen to this. It was so… pathetic. And Meiko, well… She didn't like the idea of Kaito asking Miku out. She didn't like it at all.

Wow. She was never going to say that out loud. It was ridiculous!

"You don't have to reply now," Kaito jumped in quickly. "It's okay if-"

"No."

Meiko clamped a hand over her mouth to stifle her gasp. That voice…

…Had that been Miku?

"Did you just…?" Kaito managed.

"Thank you very much, Kaito. But I…" That voice was lovely. It was small and so quiet, the kind of voice that you could easily lose in a loud crowd of people. "I'm going to have to say no."

"Oh. Oh…" Jesus. Meiko really didn't want to hear her friend's voice sound that strangled. Meiko wanted to jump out of her hiding place and throw her arms around the idiot and hug him until he was okay. "That's okay. That's…"

"Kaito." It was Miku again. Honestly, Meiko was having trouble hearing exactly what she was saying. She hadn't expected that kind of voice from the girl. "I believe you've misunderstood. I like you very much. You are a very kind person, I think. But… There's someone else."

Meiko's brain rushed through possible people who Miku could even consider "someone else" in this situation. She didn't really interact with many people, though there were a few people, especially considering Kaito was a social butterfly who forced mutual friendship on countless people.

"No, that's… It's fine. Actually, it's nice that you told me since you don't really, you know…" Kaito drifted off.

"Talk?" Miku asked. "Yes. I don't, really. But maybe I owe it to you by now."

"You didn't have to."

"But it was important," Miku replied. "Wasn't it?"

Kaito waited a few moments before replying and Meiko couldn't help holding her breath. She felt as though they could hear every tiny noise she made and it was maddening.

"Yeah," he confirmed at last. "It was important."

And then followed the awkward silence. For the rest of the freaking period.

Meiko was reconsidering going to the library ever again.

* * *

She finally saw Kaito after school again. They had so few classes together, and they were all in the morning. Meiko had been stressing over what to say all through those final hours of school after the scene in the library. She had to admit she was surprised to find Kaito and Miku standing outside by the bike rack as they usually did.

"Hey, Kaito!" she greeted, flicking the back of his head to get his attention. "Walking home together? It's movie night, after all!" Every Friday was movie night. The consequences for missing this special day, which had been a tradition for going on four years now, were quite severe, unless the reasons for missing included death or something equally serious. It hadn't happened yet, luckily.

"Oh. Oh, yeah!" Kaito's eyes lit up a bit, though she wasn't completely convinced. "What are we watching?"

"Tim Burton marathon, idiot," Meiko replied. "We decided last week."

"That's right!" Kaito smiled at her as Miku struggled with her bike lock. She always seemed to be struggling with it, but today Kaito wasn't helping her. With a sigh, Meiko slid next to her and held out her hand for the key.

"Need a hand?" she asked. Miku avoided her gaze as she gave her the key to unlock to difficult lock.

"It's a pain," Kaito informed her. "Even I have trouble opening it."

Meiko rolled her eyes. "Kaito, you're forgetting who you're talking to," she said, opening the lock not with complete ease but with far less of a struggle than Kaito usually had.

"Show-off," Kaito grumbled. Meiko grinned at him smugly as Miku slid her bike out of its space, still avoiding Meiko's gaze completely.

"You're welcome," Meiko grumbled. Couldn't she have gotten even a glance of recognition? Was that too much to ask?

She swung an arm over Kaito's shoulders, an uncharacteristic act that he didn't seem to mind, and directed him towards her house. This week movie night was at her place, which was good because Kaito's younger sister was having a sleepover. She usually had better food to snack on, too, and owned way more movies than the Shions. The two usually had to rent something when they went over there, which wasn't inconvenient or anything. But Meiko preferred walking straight home and settling into a couch.

"So, which movie first?" she asked, refusing to remove her arm as she felt Miku's eyes follow them off the campus.

"Coraline," Kaito decided. "I'm in the mood for Coraline."

"Excellent," Meiko agreed, ignoring the prickles running up her spine as Miku continued to stare at the two. She was so freaking creepy sometimes.

* * *

"Hey, Meiko!"

It was Kaito, who was being trailed by Miku as he usually was in the mornings. It could be said that Meiko was surprised to see the two together, acting so normally. And whoever said that would be right. But Meiko tried not to act surprised. No use in making things all the more awkward for the two.

"Hi, Kaito," Meiko replied. "Hi, Miku."

Miku graced her with a nod of recognition. Most days she didn't even get that, so maybe the girl was in a good mood or something.

"You're hair's a mess," Kaito informed her, reaching over to run his hand over the back of her head. Her brown hair stuck up in spikes, bedhead at its finest. Meiko swatted his hand away.

"I slept through my alarm. It's what I get for staying up late last night," she shot him an accusatory look. He knew exactly what she was implying.

"It's not my fault! You could have turned off your phone at any time!" Kaito argued in a good-natured way.

"What, and abandon you? I'd never hear the end of that," Meiko stated. "Whatever. It's just hair."

"It looks okay messy, actually," Kaito informed her. "I wouldn't worry about it."

"Who said I'm worrying?" Meiko asked, combing her bangs with her fingers. Actually, what most people didn't know was that she put a lot of work into her appearance. She never wore make-up, but that was mainly because she didn't really understand how to put it on. The best she could do was look clean. Brushing her hair certainly helped with that. The fact that her hair was so incredibly messy made her feel self-conscious, something she liked to avoid. Damn, what she wouldn't give for a comb.

"Ack. I give up," Meiko let her arm fall to her side. "Doesn't matter, anyway."

She glanced over to Miku when she heard the zipper of her bag being opened. Meiko was surprised to see the girl pull out a plastic brush with one hand and hold it out for her to take. The thing she was most surprised about, though, was that Miku was actually meeting her eyes.

"Oh. Thanks," Meiko said awkwardly, taking the brush and quickly running it through her own hair. It caught in several knots and tangles.

Kaito rolled his eyes visibly, something he didn't do very often. "Of course Miku would have a brush."

"No duh. Look at her hair," Meiko's eyes traced her long pigtails and didn't notice the way the girl shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. Though to be fair to Meiko, Miku made a point of making sure no one noticed.

"How do you have the patience to deal with your hair?" Kaito asked. "I can't handle it going past my ears." Unconsciously, Kaito began to play with a strand of dark blue hair. When he noticed, he laughed quietly at himself and let his hand fall to his side.

Meiko handed to brush back to Miku and shouldered her school bag. "Thanks, Miku. We should probably go to class now."

The other two agreed with simultaneous nods and the small group spilt for their individual classes.

* * *

For the first time in her memory, Kaito wasn't at lunch with her. She knew exactly where the boy could be found and had no intention of retrieving him, since he was currently being lectured by a teacher about his grades. But this meant she was left alone with his friends. More specifically, Miku. The others ignored Meiko for the most part, but Miku was right across from her, silently chewing on her sandwich. Meiko did her best to ignore the girl and focus on her own lunch; reheated soup from last night. But it was hard to when Miku kept glancing up at her whenever she though Meiko wasn't paying attention.

Meiko didn't like being stared at, especially by Miku. To be honest, she still wasn't feeling completely friendly towards the girl. So it was to be expected that she'd only put up with it for a little while.

Setting down her spoon after far too many minutes of having those green eyes on her, Meiko made sure to keep her voice quiet so no one else could hear.

"What's your problem?" she hissed. "You've been staring at me for all of lunch."

Miku looked a bit shocked but shook it off. She didn't reply, though her eyes fell to the table's surface and she stopped eating.

"Not going to answer?" Meiko demanded. "Fine. But quit staring at me." Quiter, she added, "Not much to see, anyway."

"What do you mean by that?"

It was Miku's voice. Though she had only heard it once, it was hard to forget that voice. Meiko was the one staring now.

"Do you mean that you're ugly?" Miku asked quietly, her voice even softer than Meiko's had been. "I don't think you're ugly. No one thinks you're ugly."

Meiko squashed her shock down in order to reply. "It doesn't matter what you or anyone else thinks, especially if you're wrong. Besides, I didn't say anything. Mind your own business."

Meiko glared across the table at the girl, daring her to say anything else. Miku didn't, but she didn't remove her own sad eyes from Meiko's. Why was she sad?

"Quit looking at me!" Meiko snapped, snatching up her thermos of soup and standing abruptly to leave, which is exactly what she did, nearly knocking over a few smaller students in her rush. The other people at her table stared as she hurried away angrily, including Miku. The pity on her face was undeniable now. It was the most emotion she had ever shown, and had anyone been looking at her instead of Meiko, they would have gasped in surprise.

But as per usual, Miku wasn't at the forefront of anyone's thoughts, especially not with a fiery Meiko making a scene.

* * *

Kaito sat down next to Meiko on the front steps of the school where she had been waiting for him. HE had ended up with more than just a lunchtime detention. Now it was well after school had let out and Meiko was bored, bored, bored. Luckily Kaito was there now.

"What did the teacher make you do?" Meiko asked him, stretching her legs out in front of her. She wasn't one of skirts, even in warm weather, and wore her usual loose jeans and hiking boots.

"Nothing horrible. I had to make up a lot of work, mainly," Kaito replied, letting his bag slide off if his shoulder and onto the concrete next to him. "It was really boring."

"Then you should try to keep your grades up," Meiko replied. She didn't have the best grades herself, but she worked to keep what she had, which was way better than anything Kaito could hope for.

"I know," Kaito sighed. "Maybe I'll start studying or something."

Meiko couldn't help snorting. "Sure. I'll believe it when I see it," she said.

"No, seriously. I'll get Miku to help me or something. She's got straight As and everything," Kaito told her. Meiko's amusement ceased at the mention of Miku.

"How… how are things with Miku?" she asked, crossing her legs ad fidgeting a bit. It was a risky question. Meiko didn't really know how willing Kaito was to talk about his relationship with Miku at the moment. Hopefully he would bite her head off.

"I guess… We're okay," Kaito replied, much to her relief. "It's a bit awkward, but she's cool, for the most part."

"Oh," Meiko said. "That's good."

"Yeah." Kaito didn't say anything else for a while. "You're being nicer to her lately. Well, nicer considering you're Meiko."

"Shut up," Meiko ordered. "I'm not being nicer. I'm being civil. Besides, she's your friend, so I guess I owe it to her. Even if she's annoying."

"I sort of expected you to be meaner after, um… that," Kaito confessed.

Meiko turned to look at him. "Why?" she asked.

Kaito's face was turning a reddish color now, and he wasn't looking at Meiko. "Well, I thought you might be… jealous. I guess," he stammered.

"I was, sort of. You're my best friend," Meiko admitted.

"No, like… I thought you'd be jealous because you… you…"

"Damn it, Kaito. Spit it out," Meiko commanded, watching his face turn even redder.

"You like me, right?"

Meiko couldn't reply. Honestly, she was shocked Kaito would even consider that a possibility. Yeah, she liked Kaito. She loved him as her best friend. He was her brother who was way less annoying than her actual brother, which was saying something since Kaito himself was pretty annoying. She certainly didn't… Nope, not even a little.

Not even an option.

Ew.

"No!" Meiko exclaimed, shoving Kaito to the side. Honestly, it had come out as a shriek. "Ew, no. Definitely not."

Kaito protested as she shoved him. "That was an incredibly violent response," he complained, his face still red. "But that's good to hear."

"How could you even think that?" Meiko asked. "I was jealous because you're my best friend and you have been for most of my life. Not because you like Miku! Jesus, you're stupid."

Kaito grinned at her, and Meiko knew he was relieved. "That's good," he said. "That's great. Because you're my best friend, too, so it would be weird if you liked me."

Meiko knew her own face was a bit pink now, but she was also grinning. "You're such an idiot," she decided.

"Tell me something I don't know."

* * *

"Meiko. Goddamnit, listen to me! Are you paying even a little bit of attention?"

Meiko glanced up at Megumi Megpoid, a girl only a year behind her. The girl was one of the few other people in the school she could stand, which was good because now Kaito was dating her. Yes, only one week after his confession to Miku (and we all know how that went), the boy had started going out with this… she-devil. Now, don't get her wrong, Meiko admired the girl's spunk and no-nonsense attitude, but she could live with being less rude.

Like now. Honestly, couldn't she tell Meiko wasn't in the mood to be harassed?

"What?" Meiko demanded, glancing up from her stupid textbook. She had an important test coming up and studying had never really been a skill of hers. Nevertheless, every waking minute lately had been devoted to studying. Or, if you were to shorten it, just "dying."

"Kaito's birthday! I just freaking told you," Megumi (or Gumi, as she preferred) glared at Meiko from across the table. They both had the same off period and Gumi had taken to bugging Meiko during it. "I want to know what I should get him."

"Jesus, I don't know. What do girlfriends get their boyfriends?" Meiko asked, squinting over at the other girl.

"I don't know!" Gumi retorted. Meiko could see she was actually in a bit of a panic and resolved to try to be a bit nicer next time she opened her mouth. "What does Kaito like?"

"Um," Meiko thought for a moment. "He likes ice cream."

Gumi set her jaw irritably. "I'm not getting him ice cream," she replied.

"Get him a video game. And you can draw, right? Draw him a card or something," Meiko told her. "He'll be happy with whatever you get him."

"That was incredibly helpful," Gumi said sarcastically. "I thought you were his best friend."

"I am. But I don't think girlfriend presents and best friend presents are the same thing," Meiko replied. "I'm just getting him some gift cards and making him dinner, so I'm not really helpful. Now can you let me study?"

Gumi huffed and slid back in her seat as Meiko glanced back down at her book. "Why don't you ask Miku to help you study?" Gumi asked. "She helped me and I passed all of my tests with nothing less than a ninety-five."

"We aren't big fans of each other," Meiko replied.

Gumi rolled her eyes. "So? You get along well enough not to kill each other."

Meiko didn't really have an argument for that so chose to ignore Gumi.

"Mature," the green-haired girl snorted. "It's hard to believe you'll be graduating before me."

"Shut up," Meiko replied.

* * *

Meiko swallowed her pride two days later and finally approached Miku. She had made a point of avoiding the girl since she sort of exploded at lunch. But she was desperate. On the pre-test she had taken, she had barely passed. She needed more than that to impress the colleges she wanted to apply for. She needed a lot more than that.

So she managed to ask Miku to help her study and wanted to die the whole time. Now came the easier part, since Miiku had agreed with a simple nod of her head. All Meiko had to do was follow whatever Miku told her to do and she'd pass. Easy enough.

If only she wasn't constantly being stared at by the girl. It was completely unnerving, the way she hardly blinked and studied Meiko like she was slowly discovering all of her secrets.

Meiko was really regretting asking Miku.

"Do you need something?" Meiko demanded. Miku shook her head once and averted her eyes to her own text book. Meiko was making note cards at the moment after searching her house high and low and pretty much tearing apart her room to find blank notecards.

"If you're bored you can turn on the TV or something," Meiko told her. "These might take me a while."

Miku shook her head again. She hadn't spoken to Meiko since that incident at lunch and it drove her mad. She didn't even have sign language to communicate, which she wasn't fluent in anyway. At least finger spelling would have been nice. Did Miku exist to make everything more difficult for her?

Probably.

"Seriously, Miku. What do you want?" Meiko demanded in a snappy tone a few minutes later. Miku jumped and maybe she felt just a little bit bad about being rude. She wouldn't admit it, though.

"Nothing, really. Please focus."

Meiko thought that she imagined the response for a moment before whipping her head up to look at Miku.

"You actually talk," Meiko said. "I didn't fall asleep or something, did I?"

"No. But I think I'd say that if you were dreaming," Miku admitted.

"Good to know. I don't think I'd be dreaming about studying, though. At least, I hope not," she said.

Miku cracked the faintest smile in response. "I was hoping that I'd be able to get you back on track. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be working."

"Yeah, well, now I'm curious. Why don't you always talk?"

Miku thought for a moment before replying. "Work until six, and then I'll talk about it with you. But only if you stay focused. And don't ask any more questions."

"Alright," Meiko agreed, curious despite herself. It was none of her business. And quite frankly, whatever Miku's problem was, she could live without it complicating things.

But she was interested. Undeniably interested.

Meiko actually managed to work until six that evening, at which time her mother invited both of them downstairs for dinner, an invitation that was heartily accepted. Miku didn't speak at dinner, but as soon as dinner was finished, the two girls once again shut themselves in Meiko's room.

"So," Meiko began, "what's with the whole talking thing? Or lack of talking, I guess."

Miku settled back into her previous seat, which had been at Meiko's desk chair as the other girl reviewed notes and made a study plan. "It's quite simple, really. I'm not much of a talker."

"Perfect. Is that the answer to the question everyone's been asking for weeks?" Meiko asked.

Miku shot her a look. "I haven't finished," she said pointedly. "This is exactly the problem I have with talking. No one listens. People waste valuable air on complaints and insults and God knows what else."

"That's why you don't talk?" Meiko said. "Are you serious?"

Miku directed a full-on glare at her now. "Not really. And who are you to judge?" she replied. "I stopped talking because I got out of the habit. I was homeschooled for a long time before I finally came to public school. Even then, I didn't have any friends, so no one really talked to me besides teachers. I could go days without saying more than ten words. It was an experiment at first. I wanted to see who would notice."

Meiko hadn't been expecting something like that. Honestly, there had always been the nagging doubt in the back of her head that Miku was deaf or mute or something. Of course, her recent chatter pointed away from these possibilities, but still.

"It's an experiment," Meiko stated.

"Was," Miku corrected.

"So why aren't you talking now?" Meiko asked.

Miku shrugged. "Like I said, I guess I just fell out of the habit. I sort of just forgot to sometimes."

"You forgot to talk," Meiko said in disbelief. "That's… wow."

"It's a little crazy," Miku admitted. "But now I've got people who listen and who actually talk to me, so it makes it hard to avoid or to forget something like talking." Miku leaned back in Meiko's chair. "I always meant to learn sign language. Then I could pretend I couldn't hear and people wouldn't chatter at me all the time."

"That's incredibly anti-social," Meiko replied.

Miku gave her a look of disbelief. "This is coming from you, Meiko," Miku replied. Meiko hadn't heard Miku say her name yet. She sort of… liked it. Could you like the way someone said your name? It was kind of weird if you thought about it.

"Shut up," Meiko responded. "Or rather, don't. I guess it's nice to hear what you're thinking."

Miku smiled. "I thought you hated me."

"I did," Meiko admitted. "Now I only dislike you."

"Does that mean we'll be on neutral terms soon?"

Meiko was smiling now, too. "If you want."

* * *

Meiko studied like crazy. After school most days, she and Miku went to her house to review and tear through text books and notes and anything else that might help Meiko pass. Meiko almost forgot that Miku had to study, too, since she would be taking the same test. But Miku didn't seem to be sweating it. In fact, she seemed to be completely at ease. Other than her study sessions with Meiko, she didn't seem to be doing a whole lot to prepare, which Meiko found insane. Even the most intelligent students in her grade were studying to the point where they fell asleep. She herself had ended up passed out in the library or at lunch more than once as she reviewed notecards or whatever else she was trying to focus on. But Miku… She hadn't seen her study apart from when she went over to Meiko's house to help the taller girl.

That brought about the question: did she need to study at all? And if not, why was she helping Meiko? Meiko hadn't exactly been friendly to her. At least, not until Miku had started to help her out. So why…?

Why indeed. But Meiko was perfectly fine accepting Miku's help now. In fact, she thought they would probably come out of this as friends.

Miku wasn't like other girls she knew. Not that there was anything wrong with other girls. Most of them just didn't have personalities Meiko's personality agreed with. She didn't have many friends who were girls at her school, especially because her school seemed to produce a certain type of student. Most were athletic, social, and loud, while Meiko just… wasn't. Miku didn't seem to be any of those things. But she was brilliant and quiet, so Meiko found herself getting along with her. Which she hadn't expected.

But it was nice. Having a friend who was a girl. One who didn't push you to try girly things or gushed over Kaito, which people had a tendency to do.

Meiko had been wrong about Miku. She would never, ever admit it to anyone except herself. But it was completely true and she knew it.

Now she hoped they could be friends.

She really, really wanted that.

From what she could tell, Miku wanted to be friends, too. She spent a lot more time around Meiko now, though didn't really talk to her at school unless they were alone. Meiko caught herself wondering if Miku still talked to Kaito. She didn't really think so. She almost hoped so, which was embarrassing. It wasn't like Miku's voice was hers or something. But she felt special as the only person at school Miku talked to. She liked it.

Which was silly, really. But it wasn't like Meiko could help how she felt.

Miku and Meiko worked hard in class and at studying in the weeks leading up to the huge test, occasionally joined by Kaito or one of his friends. When the time came, the senior class shuffled to their assigned classes in order to take the test. Each section lasted about an hour, and there were six sections. Six hours of testing across two days. Six hours of sitting and focusing on stupid questions they would ever need to answer in the "real world."

Meiko wasn't a big fan of tests, if you haven't picked up on that yet.

Nevertheless, she sat down, shut up, and focused on page after page and question after question of the test. It was boring, but at least she knew most of the material.

Since results wouldn't arrive for at least another week, Meiko could relax for a little while and work on improving the grades she had ignored during her study break. Her gym grade was the worst, probably because she had skipped out several times in order to study. But that was an easy fix. Just help the teacher set up and put things away after class and you'd pass without a problem.

Meanwhile, Kaito was having what you might call a nervous breakdown. Or, well, the Kaito version of a nervous breakdown, which was a gradual deterioration of his mental wellbeing over a short span of time. So pretty much a nervous breakdown. No matter what Meiko said, he was completely sure he had failed the test.

"I'm telling you, I didn't get a single question right," he moaned to her one day. It was an argument they were repeating for maybe the third time, yet Meiko just couldn't convince him that he was wrong.

"Kaito, that's pretty much impossible," she replied with a sigh.

"Yes, but I'm phenomenally bad at tests, so in my case it's pretty possible."

Meiko just scoffed and ignored him for the most part. Gumi took up the job of comforting the idiot, which she didn't really mind doing since she thought he was brilliant anyway.

Meiko didn't bother asking Miku how she thought she did.

Finally, when the results arrive almost two whole weeks later, Meiko hesitated to open them. The teacher had passed them out, which wasn't what she thought would happen. Honestly, the idea of having them mailed to her house was a lot more appealing. She didn't want anyone to know if had actually done badly. So Meiko slipped the unopened envelope containing her test results into her bag as everyone tore theirs open, sighs and gasps and hollers of excitement or relief erupting from her fellow students.

At lunch, Kaito brought his results out and obviously looked scared.

"I was too worried to open them," he admitted to the group, which consisted of Meiko, Miku, Gumi, a boy named Len Kagamine, Yuuma, who had been Kaito's closest male friend for a while, and Yuuma's girlfriend Yukari.

"Wimp," Meiko said, holding out her hand. She was such a hypocrite. "I'll do it."

Kaito handed her the envelope sheepishly, taking Gumi's hand in his own for moral support. Meiko opened the letter and unfolded the multiple sheets of paper inside, scanning the results to see what was to be said about Kaito's test.

"Good job," Meiko said, sliding the results across the table to him. "You did decently."

Kaito was beaming now as he examined his own scores. "I did amazing!" he said, then added, "Well, for me, at least."

"You did excellent," Gumi told him happily.

"How did you guys do?" Kaito asked the seniors at the table. Yukari, Miku, and Meiko were the only other seniors, and all of their answers were incredibly unspecific.

Meiko still couldn't admit she hadn't looked at her test results.

* * *

Luckily, the school day felt shorter than usual, and Meiko was heading home with Miku beside her before anyone else asked her about that stupid test. The two of them had yet to actually talk about the test, considering how much time they had spent studying together. It almost felt like if one of them failed, then it was the other's fault, as well. Meiko could probably say this was why she didn't want to look at her test. What if Miku thought she was stupid? What if Miku thought she had failed her?

None of this would happen, of course, but Meiko was still nervous. The test was a big deal to her.

It was good of Miku not to bring up the test though. Considerate was the word Meiko was looking for but just couldn't find. She appreciated being able to sit down with her and do what little homework they had been assigned. The teachers were being exceptionally nice about assignments now, since they were taking so many finals.

Meiko yawned and sat back in her chair. The two of them had set up at the kitchen table, laptops in front of them and worksheets and notes spread around them. Meiko was tired and bored and nervous all at once, which she really didn't like. Finally, the unopened letter had burned a hole it her bag completely and Meiko had to yank it out into the open and throw it across the table at Miku, who raised an eyebrow.

"I haven't opened it," Meiko said. "It's too nerve-wracking. Can you…?"

"Of course," Miku confirmed, sliding a delicate nail under the paper and slowly opening the envelope. Meiko unconsciously held her breath as Miku examined her results with a critical eye. There was a long moment of terrifying silence before Miku looked up at her and smiled.

"You did very well," Miku told her. "Would you like to see now?"

Meiko jumped up and reached across the table, tearing the papers out of an amused Miku's hands. Meiko's eyes took in her score and she collapsed back into her chair in relief.

"See? I think you did quite well," Miku said.

"Thank God," Meiko sighed.

"You worked very hard. You deserve those scores," Miku told the girl.

"Now I won't feel stupid when I see yours. Well, I probably will, but not quite as stupid," Meiko said. "What did you get?"

Miku smiled. "I got a perfect score in math and reading. My science scores weren't very good, and my English scores could have been far better, but I think I did well."

"You definitely did well," Meiko told her. "Let's celebrate. We'll go get ice cream."

Miku agreed and the two girls set their homework aside in favor of the ice cream shop downtown, which would take at least twenty minutes to walk to. Meiko didn't care. She had done well. She didn't have to stress about that stupid test anymore. It was over and done and in the past.

Now, all that was left was graduation.

* * *

All class-related nonsense was over with the week before school let out. The final week was really more preparation for graduation and cleaning classrooms and such. The talent show was in that last week, too, and Meiko had a lot of fun, despite the roiling mass of nervous energy inside her gut. She couldn't wait to graduate, but at the same time it was so very, very frightening. A few colleges had accepted her already, but most had been her plan B, C, D, and so on. Her first choice had yet to respond. The letter should arrive in the next few days, though, so she was especially worried. At least, that's what she wanted everyone to think.

One thing Meiko was thoroughly enjoying was the celebrations. A lot of the students at her school came from money, and they certainly knew how to throw a party. They'd invite entire classes to have fun and just enjoy the fact that high school was almost over. Meiko's own celebration was a small matter; a family dinner with a few aunts, uncles, cousins, and so forth. She had fun, even if it wasn't as grand as the things other people were doing.

But the best celebration was the one her friends threw together. All of them, including a few of Kaito's friends and Gumi's friends and Yukari and Yuuma's friends, came together at the park two days before their actual graduation, where they set out food and water pistols and water balloons and anything else they cared to bring. Miku was there, too, which Meiko hadn't expected but certainly enjoyed.

Miku, as the top student in their class, had a speech to prepare for the graduating class. Meiko didn't really know what the teachers expected since Miku still had yet to properly speak in class, but she knew the girl would shock everyone no matter what she said. Miku was constantly writing things down on notecards, though only practiced once or twice around Meiko. At that party, she hadn't picked up the notecards once. Meiko suspected she was doing her best to relax.

After Kaito had cut up the huge watermelon Len and his sister had brought, they split into teams for a giant water battle. It was a sight for sure; teens running around the park, spraying each other with water and hurling water balloons full force at anyone and everyone they came across. Meiko was having fun, despite the childishness of the event. She was glad to see that Miku was having fun, too.

Afterwards, she walked Miku back to her house. Neither expected Meiko to come inside, but she didn't really want to leave, either.

"Hey, Miku?" Meiko began as the girl wrestled with her house key.

"Yeah?" Miku asked. Talking had become such a frequent thing now that Meiko had pretty much forgotten what it was like when the girl was silent all the time.

"I…" Meiko sighed. "Never mind. I'll leave now, I guess."

Meiko turned to walk down Miku's front steps, but the girl caught her first, ignoring the still-locked door.

"You have something to say," Miku said, holding onto Meiko's arm with a soft grip. "What's the use in talking if you never say what you actually want to say?"

Meiko rolled her eyes. It was a line Miku exercised often to convince Meiko to tell her something. At first, it had seemed brilliant, but now it was just annoying.

"I guess I just don't want to go yet," Meiko admitted.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Miku pointed out.

"I know."

Meiko knew that smile Miku wore; it was her fond smile, the one she wore when she liked what she heard.

"I've got a few things to do. But I'll call you tonight," Miku promised.

"Okay," Meiko agreed. She thought that it would be okay to leave now, but apparently Miku had other plans. She pulled Meiko around to face her properly and yanked the girl down to her level, planting a swift kiss right on her lips.

Meiko was shocked. Not angry or grossed out or uncomfortable, but certainly shocked. Miku hadn't expressed any interest in anyone, let alone her. So why…?

Miku broke away, string shyly up into Meiko's eyes. "Was that okay?" she asked.

"Sudden," Meiko replied. "But it was okay." Quickly, she pecked Miku on the lips again and smiled at the girl. Miku still had her hands wrapped around the back of Meiko's head while the girl leaned down.

Miku was smiling now, too. "Yeah, I know. But it seemed like a good time," she said. "So I'll call you?"

Meiko nodded. "You'll call me," she confirmed.

Now she really didn't want to go.

* * *

**What did you think? In my opinion, the last scene is just... gah... *retching sounds in the background***

**But apart from that, I think I did decently! Maybe...**

**Have a wonderful holiday, everyone!**


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